Protective hood



Aug.- 5; 1969 H. w. AUSTIN ETAL PROTECTIVE HOOD Filed Jan. 22. 1968 Flt-3.4.

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A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,458,864 PROTECTIVE HOOD Harry W. Austin, Monroeville, and William C. Hess, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh, Fan, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 699,669 int. Cl. A42!) 1/00 US. Cl. 2-5 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A protective hood for the head has a depending skirt for covering the chest and shoulders and upper back. Inside the skirt there is an annular flap that has an outer edge secured to the edge of the skirt. The front and back portions of the flap will hang from the shoulders of the wearer and pull the edge of the skirt in against his body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although clothing designed for protection against se- Vere heat, fire and other hazards is usually a one-piece garment, there are designs in which the garment is made in two pieces. One piece covers the body and the other is a hood that completely encloses the head and may have a downwardly extending skirt that covers the shoulders and chest and upper part of the back. Sometimes such a hood is worn alone, without the other part of the garment. In either case, it is highly desirable to avoid gaps between the lower edge of the hood and the body of the wearer to prevent fire, heat, smoke, fumes or spray from entering the hood. The practice now is to use straps, ties, snaps, or buckles to hold the lower edge of the hood against the body, but they suffer from the disadvantages that time is required to fasten them and it may not be possible to quickly release them if it becomes necessary to suddenly remove the hood in an emergency. Also, hanging straps or open edges which can catch on nearby objects are a hazard to the safety of the individual.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a protective hood which has a lower edge that seats against the body without the use of straps or other fastening means, which has no hanging straps or the like to create a safety hazard and which is quick and easy to put on and remove.

In accordance with this invention the protective hood has a depending skirt adapted to cover the chest and shoulders and upper back. Inside the skirt there is an annular flap that extends around the neck and has outer and inner edges. The outer edge is secured to the skirt around its edge, and the front and back portions of the flap will hang from the shoulders of the wearer to support the edge of the skirt and thereby pull it against the body.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front view of the hood;

FIG. 2 is a side view;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the flap alone laid out fiat; and

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the flap taken on the line IV--IV of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a more or less conventional protective hood has a top portion 1 that covers the top of the head, a central portion 2 that surrounds the head, and a depending flexible skirt 3. The top portion is provided interiorly with a conventional strap cradle 4 that seats on the head to support the hood. The front of the central portion of the hood is provided with a large opening surrounded by a horizontally curved frame 5, in which there is a glass or plastic window 6. The skirt flares downwardly from the central portion of the hood and is long enough to more or less cover the chest and the upper part of the back. The side portions of the skirt are contoured to extend across the shoulders. Thus, the lower edge of the skirt or hood extends across the chest and up over the shoulders and down and across the back. 'It is the purpose of this invention to hold that lower edge in against the body of the wearer so that heat, smoke, fumes, etc., cannot enter the hood from the bottom.

Accordingly, an annular flap 8 is provided that is disposed inside the skirt. The central opening in this flap is large enough for the head to pass through easily so that the flap can extend around the neck. The flap may be circular or slightly elongated in a forward and backward direction as shown in FIG. 3. The outer edge of the flap is sewed or otherwise secured to the lower edge of the skirt all around the bottom of the hood. The size of the flap is such that its side portions will engage and rest on the shoulders, with its front and back portions hanging therefrom, before the hood can be fully extended downwardly. In other words, the flap will actually support the lower edge of the hood and thereby pull it in against the body. Described in another way, when the hood is placed over the head, the shoulder areas of the flap seat on the shoulders of the wearer and then, as the hood settles down, the inner or upper edge of the flap hugs the body and causes the lower edge of the flap to pull the adjoining edge of the skirt in against the body.

Due to the slope of the shoulders, it is desirable that the flap, when laid out fiat, taper upwardly slightly as shown in FIG. 4, so that its side portions that cover the shoulders will slope downwardly and outwardly from the neck and thereby provide a greater area of contact with the shoulders. All of the flap, except its outer edge, is entirely free of the hood.

When a hood as described herein is donned, its lower .edge will automatically be pulled in against the body. No straps or other fastening means are required, so the hood can be put on and removed quickly and is safe to wear.

We claim:

1. The combination with a head-receiving protective hood having a depending flexible skirt adapted to cover the chest and shoulders and upper back, of an annular flap inside the skirt having outer and inner edges, said outer edge only being secured to the skirt around its edge, and the side portions of the flap being positioned to rest substantially flat upon the shoulders of the wearer with the front and back portions of the flap hanging therefrom to support the edge of the skirt and thereby pull it in against the body of the wearer.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, in which the flap, when laid out flat, tapers upwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 645,286 3/1900 Bader 2-5 XR 2,888,011 5/1959 Penrod et a1. l28l42.7

JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-202; l28-142 

